Parker second-half show seals 102-91 win for the Spurs.
Tony Parker scored 28 points, with 24 coming in the second-half in the San Antonio Spurs’ 102-91 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday.
The win gives the Spurs a 2-0 series lead in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs, with Game 3 on Friday at the Staples Center.
With Kobe Bryant already missing for the remainder of the post season, Jodie Meeks was ruled out with an ankle sprain he suffered in Game 1. However, the bigger blow for the Lakers came in the last few minutes with Steve Blake leaving the game with a reported sore hamstring.
Blake had a joint team-high of 16 points along with Dwight Howard, with the latter suffering from foul trouble which limited him to 33 minutes.
The bench was once again an important factor for the Spurs, with Matt Bonner, Manu Ginobili and Gary Neal hitting six of the seven shots the Spurs drained from the three-point line.
However, it was Parker who undoubtedly sparked them to victory on this occasion, as his 28 points were the most he has scored since February 21 against the Clippers after suffering from injuries in recent weeks.
The Lakers will want to put the opening two games behind them as they go in search of getting on the scoreboard in front a raucous home crowd on Friday.
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